If you want to go deeper into the math, this third band is officially referred to as a multiplier. In the example above, the third stripe is brown, indicating that a single zero should be added to the right of the first two digits. To get around this, the third band indicates that a certain number of zeros should be added after the first two digits to make up the full resistor value. Resistor values can get to be very high in number, and there often isn't enough space to use a band for every digit. Since brown is 1, it means add one zero to the right of the first two digits.Īlthough the first two bands are fairly straightforward, the third and fourth bands might require a bit more explanation.
The colored bands on a resistor can tell you everything you need to know about its value and tolerance, as long as you understand how to read them. This value's unit is the ohm, often noted with the Greek letter omega: Ω. Each one has a value that tells how strongly it resists current flow. Resistors resist the flow of electrical current.